What Doesn't Kill You, Only Makes You Stranger

Chapter 10

Joker Rules!

A/N: Just to clear up some confusion from the previous chapter, NO ONE died in the last chapter! It was only a nightmare sequence caused by the 'Fear Gas.' Well hopefully that cleared up any confusion! Now let's move on!

The Teen Titans continued to have horrible nightmares, even hours after the Joker escaped. But eventually Robin was the first to wake up. He held his head in pain, then hugged himself out of the cold-fear that he was feeling.

'It felt so real!' Robin thought to himself, before looking at his fellow team mates. He saw Raven clinging to Beast Boy in fear as she grunted in her sleep. Beast Boy also held Raven close to him as he talked in his sleep. He saw Cyborg tossing and turning also moaning from the nightmares he was experiencing. But when he saw Starfire, it broke his heart. She was crying silently, but he could still hear her. He slowly crawled over to her and wrapped his arms around her lovingly, stroking her hair, whispering in her ear to wake up

"Robin?" Starfire asked quietly, as her eyes fluttered open slowly

"Ya Star, it's me. I'm here" Robin answered with a small smile on his face. Starfire immediately hugged him. Robin was caught by surprise but quickly returned the hug.

"Oh Robin! I t-thought y-y-you w-were gone f-forever! I saw that m-m-monster-clown s-s-shoot you!" Starfire spoke brokenly, because of her crying profusely. Robin himself couldn't help but shed tears as well.

"I saw you fall into the chemicals! And I couldn't do anything to s-save you!" Robin cried on her shoulders

"I really…thought…you died" Starfire whispered

"Like-wise" Robin replied, before locking eyes with Starfire. Robin knew that right now was the time to tell Starfire how he felt about her.

'Come on Robin! Tell her! Tell her now! She deserves to know! Especially after that horrible lie you told! You could've broken her heart for all you know!' Robin yelled at himself mentally

"Starfire…" Robin began with a deep breath, Starfire looked up from his chest with a curious look in her eyes.

"Yes?"

"I…lo…" Robin cleared his throat

'Come on! Just say it! Stop being such a wuss! ' Robin yelled at himself again

"I love you" Robin finally blurted out, but before he could even think about Starfire's reaction she placed her lips against his. Robin instinctively returned the kiss with more passion as his arms found their way around Starfire's waist. Their tongues battled against each other in an attempt to see who was kissing harder. After a full minute, they finally broke apart when air was nagging to get into their lungs.

"I love you too, Robin" Starfire replied lovingly

"I'm sorry I lied, I just did it to save you from the Joker" Robin apologized

"It is okay now. None of that matters." Starfire reassured him as they came back for another kiss. When they broke apart for a second time, they decided it was time to wake up their friends. They walked over to Raven and Beast Boy first and gently shook them awake. They finally came to Cyborg, but were having trouble waking him up. When everything they tried failed, Beast Boy stuck his finger in his mouth before giving his robotic friend a VERY wet-willy.

"AHHHH!! Man! Not cool BB!!" Cyborg yelled as he tried to clean his ear, which was violated with Beast Boy's germs.

"So what happened?" Raven asked

"Joker poisoned us with 'Fear Gas'. Giving us excruciating nightmares." Robin explained

"It was all a nightmare!? But they felt so real!" Beast Boy exclaimed, as everyone nodded in agreement

"But they weren't, now come on! We have to find the Joker!"Robin ordered

"I don't think I'll ever be able to look at clowns the same way again!" Cyborg confessed as they all ran to the T-car. Once they made it, they noticed another Joker's card on the wind-shield wiper. Robin picked it up and read the note on the back.

'Dear Robin and friends,

I decided to leave you poor things alone

And have a good night's sleep!

You all looked like you were having sweet dreams!

Anyways, don't bother looking for me

Because I'll happily reveal my master plan

On channel 9 news at 8:oo!

Be sure to tune in!'

Mr. J

P.S. I hope you enjoy the show! HE HE HA HA HA!

After reading the note, he flipped the card to see a red-arrow pointing down. Robin looked down to see a newspaper on the ground. The front page was just a picture of the mayor, but he had a smile drawn on him with red-marker. Scattered all around the newspaper were the words 'He He Ha Ha!' Robin was deeply confused by what all of this meant, but quickly remembered what the note said.

"Cyborg what time is it?" Robin asked

"It's 7: 37, why?" Cyborg replied with a question of his own

"We have to get back to the tower immediately!" Robin declared as everyone got into the T-car and drove off back to the Titan's Tower. They made it back to the tower after, a very long ride of Robin shouting in Cyborg's ear to move faster and Cyborg shouting back that he was driving as fast as he could. When they finally made it back, it was exactly 8:00 P.M. Robin ran up into the common and turned on the T.V. He switched to channel 9 only to see a scheduled speech from the mayor of Jump City. Robin stared at the T.V. screen both confused and suspicious at the same time.

"That's it!? You made me rush back home just to catch the mayor's speech?!?" Cyborg asked baffled by the ridiculous reason to rush back home.

"It's called TiVo, bro" Beast Boy told Robin, also skeptical at why Robin would be in such a hurry, just to hear the mayor's speech.

"But…on the card…Joker said to tune in on channel 9 at 8:00 P.M. But why?" Robin asked out loud, to no one in particular

"It must have been a distraction Robin" Cyborg suggested, but then all of a sudden a gunshot was heard over the T.V. screen. Everyone looked over to the T.V. to see the Joker's jesters rush in and capture the mayor and the rest of the mayor's representatives. Everyone else who attended was running and screaming, attempting to leave the building. The jesters quickly shot down the security guards who were trying to save the mayor. Finally from behind the curtains Joker appeared with an enormous smile on his face.

"Hello citizens of Jump City!" Joker greeted over the microphone, waving happily at the camera in front of him.

"You may all know me as Joker, Clown prince of crime himself! Or just simply as the criminal mastermind with the clown make-up! Or maybe, the man who killed Batman! Either or is acceptable!" Joker laughed, as he smiled evilly into the camera, Robin felt disgusted and angry at hearing Joker bring up Batman's death, but was certain that now was not the time to lose his cool.

"Well today is the most important day in Jump City history! As we are about to name a new mayor! Perhaps the most loved mayor in Jump City history!" Joker giggled contently

"You may be asking, 'but what about our current mayor?' Well unfortunately he was just recently found to have committed suicide" The Joker said with mock sadness in his voice

"But I'm right here…" The mayor began, but was interrupted when the Joker reached his hand back and shot the mayor, the smile or his face never leaving the T.V. screen. He looked back, bent over and placed the gun in the mayor's cold-lifeless hands.

"Looks like a clean death to me" Joker remarked as he grabbed the camera and showed the gun in the mayor's hand.

"Now who could ever take his place?" The Joker asked rhetorically

"I will…" Another man behind the Joker offered, but he was also shot down, but by one of the jesters

"Who said that? Hmm…I must have been hearing things!" The Joker laughed

"Well if no one else will, then I volunteer myself as the new mayor of Jump City! Ah! Here's the Judge himself!" The Joker said as a man dressed in a suit walked onto the platform. Behind him was a jester holding a gun to his head, forcing him to proclaim Joker as the new mayor.

"With the power vested in me, I pronounce you… Joker… as the new…" The Judge began

"SAY IT!" The Jester screamed as he poked the gun harder to the back of the Judge's head

" …mayor of Jump City" The Judge announced remorsefully

"Why thank you!" Joker said before he shot down the judge as well

"It's now official ladies and gentlemen! And as my first decree, I will declare a new rule…NO RULES! Go ahead! Run wild! Steal! Cheat! Kill! Download illegal music! GO CRAZY!! NO ONE CAN STOP YOU!! NOT EVEN THE TEEN TITANS!!!" The Joker laughed insanely. His speech was delivered on every Television and computer in Jump City, so as soon as he delivered his speech, the citizens of Jump City immediately obeyed, and ran the streets into full chaos. A shot of a jailbreak was shown right next to the Joker, revealing an army of his Jesters leading a huge crowd of criminals out of the formally high-guarded prison. The dangerous criminals also took full advantage of the Joker's new order, and began to cause pandemonium all over the city.

"You see! They have the right idea!" Joker exclaimed as he continued to laugh

"Oh! And before I forget! Titans, if you even attempt to stop this anarchy, I will personally launch my missile into the heart of Jump City, turning this magnificent city into a parking lot! And don't think I won't!" Joker threatened as he walked of the stage with a hearty laugh, another shot was shown to reveal the missile that the Joker was referring too. The missile was tall, with a purple body and green fins and wings. On the body was a big smiley face, underneath it were the words 'Get the punch line?' Then the T.V. screen turned to static.

"No…He's…Taken over" Robin spoke quietly, looking out the window to see Jump City being run into the ground by its own citizens. The rest of the team looked out the window to see crowds of people rioting in the streets, turning cars over, and setting fires.

"What do we do Robin?!?" Cyborg asked hysterically, looking at the chaos running amuck in the city.

"I…don't…know!" Robin stuttered

"What do you mean you don't know!?!" Beast Boy asked

"I…really don't…know what to do" Robin answered honestly

"If we try to stop the Joker, he'll launch his missile! And I wouldn't take his threats lightly! The man is psychotic!" Robin explained, before falling on his knees in frustration

"I hate to say this friends, but maybe we should get some sleep on this" Starfire suggested, looking at the floor regretfully and hopelessly

"How are we supposed to sleep when Jump City is under turmoil!?!" Cyborg yelled at Starfire accidently

"DON'T YELL AT HER!!" Robin shouted back at Cyborg, taking everyone by surprise by his sudden outburst.

"Whoa man, I didn't mean to yell at her…" Cyborg apologized, but Robin gave him a saddened glare. Cyborg knew that Robin was under a lot of pressure as the leader of the team, and now more than ever with the Joker as the new self-proclaimed mayor of Jump City.

"Maybe Starfire is right, maybe we all should get some sleep and figure out a way to stop this madness tomorrow" Raven suggested

"I agree with Raven" Beast Boy chimed in

"Ya, maybe we should" Robin agreed, calming down. Everyone exited the room and headed for their respective rooms, not looking forward to sleeping when knowing very well of the self-destruction of Jump City was occurring right outside of the island. Starfire caught up with Robin, who was hiding in his quarters. Robin was thinking as hard as he could on how to stop the Joker in such a tight situation that they were in.

"Robin?" Starfire asked quietly

"Yes Star?" Robin asked back

"Would you like me to keep you company?" Starfire asked sweetly, with a caring smile. Robin returned the smile and gestured for her sit next to him. Starfire obeyed and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing his cheek softly.

"I'm sure we will find a way out of this Robin. We always do" Starfire comforted Robin, who only smiled at her reassurance

"I hope your right Star, I really hope you are" Robin said silently as he felt Starfire fall asleep in his arms with her head resting on his shoulders. He rested his head on hers' and also fell into a deep slumber.

Beast Boy and Raven were the only two walking together to their rooms, since their rooms were in the same hallway.

"Well….goodnight Raven" Beast Boy said kindly as he kissed her on her charka. When he turned to leave to his own room, he felt Raven's hand on his arm, holding him back from leaving. He turned back to her confused at why she wasn't letting him go back to his room.

"Wait, Beast Boy…would you like…to sleep with me tonight?" Raven asked warily, blushing brightly

"Um…sure why not?" Beast Boy replied with a grin, and a blush to match Raven's. They both walked into her room and laid beside each other on her bed.

"Good night Rae, and sweet dreams" Beast Boy whispered in her ear and kissed her chastely on the lips, sending shivers up and down her spine.

"You too Beast Boy…" Raven answered back with a shy smile, before giving Beast Boy a kiss of her own.

The two young lovers quickly fell asleep in each other's arms, not caring of the surprises and shock they would receive in the morning. They just savored this moment that they spent together.

END OF CHAPTER

A/N: Well there you have it folks! I decided to give you guys a quick update! I hope you guys enjoyed this new chapter! So you know the drill! Read and Review! Until next time!